Site Search Navigation

Site Navigation

Site Mobile Navigation

Supported by

What’s Going On in This Picture? | April 1, 2013

By The Learning Network April 1, 2013 7:00 amApril 1, 2013 7:00 am

Photo

What’s going on in this picture? Look closely at the image above, or view it in a larger size, then tell us what you see by posting a comment. On April 2, we will reveal more about the image and its origins at the bottom of this post.Credit Christophe Simon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Update: April 2, 2013

Students: After looking closely at the image above (or at the full-size image here),
think about these three questions:

What’s going on in this picture?

What do you see that makes you say that?

What more can you find?

Then, join the conversation by posting comments below, and responding to the comments of others. (But please remember not to post your last name.)

Our collaborators, Visual Thinking Strategies, will be facilitating the discussion from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Eastern time by paraphrasing comments and linking responses, all in an attempt
to help students go deeper.

On April 2 we will reveal more information about the photo at the bottom of this post. How does reading the caption and learning its “back story” help you to see the image differently?

The Brazilian police on Friday stormed the work site of Maracanã, the venerable soccer stadium under renovation ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, in an attempt to end a standoff with more than
20 indigenous protesters who had squatted for years in an adjacent building that once housed Brazil’s first Indian Museum.

A force of about 200 camouflage-clad police officers fired tear gas in the direction of more than a hundred protesters supporting the squatters, and used pepper spray on them at various points in the chaotic operation,
drawing sharp rebukes from indigenous leaders and human rights advocates.

By early Friday afternoon, the police appeared to have dislodged the squatters from the building. But the operation highlighted the festering tension here over forced evictions in areas scheduled for development,
adding controversy to major sporting events intended to symbolize Brazil’s growing global clout.

Can it be a photo of people living in tents in a flooded apartment somewhere in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil? One of the tents says “telefonica” which is an internet provider in Spain, the little girl in
fipflops is exquisite – which we would expect to see in Brazil. The floor is flooded and the tents rest a few inches above the flooded tiles. The tiles resemble those handmade floor tiles from Jamaica,
but the language on the walls is not Jamaican, Spanish or French – can it be Portuguese? Whatever, there was a recent flood and the homeless people and little girl’s famiy are living in little
tents in the flooded room which was once beautiful and still is. The view of outside greenery with distant zinc rooves through the shuttered windows leads me to believe that the photo was taken in South America,
perhaps Brazil. Looking forward to reading your original caption to the photo. Mine is “beautiful little girl walking in flooded favela”.

I guess this picture portrays an homeless condition, very common after a flood. In order to support my argument, I quote that there are a mud water at bottom behind of the window. There are also some water on the
floor of the hangar. I can see five tent, which have likely been used for people lived. Maybe, people have been using this hangar because governments have not provided to them a home after the flood that destroyed
their homes. This picture might also help to show us the careless made by governments, who don’t care about homeless people. It is a very strong image, which is highlighted by the child walking alone
around this place in a very poor condition.

That´s a sad view, indeed. When I look at the little girl, surrounded by the tents, I can’t avoid thinking of her future. Will her parents be able to recover in time so she won´t suffer the effects
of this tragic moment in her life? How temporary will this situation be? The writing on the wall is definitely Portuguese, so I figure it must be in Brazil, Mozambique, Angola or another country where the language
is spoken. Maybe this picture was taken in Rio during the recent floods and landslides that happenend there, Somehow, I want to believe that the little girl is just having some fun at a very improbable campsite:
she and her friends decided to go camping inside an abandoned building. I don´t believe in Santa Claus, though.

thank you to our first few commenters… @NanS asks us to look to the language on the walls and tent, the patterns on the floor tiles, and outside to the greenery and roofing style for clues as to where this scene takes place. And @Daniel recognizes the writing on the walls as Portugese perhaps narrowing the location to Brazil (in agreement w NanS) or Mozambique or Angola.

The plight of little girl however is very much in question — is she having fun during a voluntary camping excursion? Is she highlighting the devastating impact of what is possibly a flood? Is she a bright spot of beauty amid a destroyed home? What can we see to help us understand her experience any better?

i see a sad picture here. to me this looks a family that is traveling going on many expeditions and they decided to camp in a old abandoned house. when the family went to leave they forgot the child and the child
is still having fun even though she is alone. there looks like there could be a flood but the child does not really care.

To me this looks like people trying to find a place to live after a flood. There are 5 tents in total that are in an abandoned room. This room has graffiti on the walls and looks run down showing it has not been
used in a long time. There is also remaining water on the floor from the flood. Judging from the background it looks like the picture was taken in a poorer part of Somewhere in South America. The little girl
looks like someone who has been affected by this disaster and is trying to find a place to stay while they need to. There are so many ways that this picture is beautiful. All of the hidden meanings it could
have add beauty and depth to this picture.

I think that this picture was taken in a less wealthy and developed country. It looks like it is showing people who do not have homes; most likely because of a flood. The building that the people are “camping”
in looks very broken down and it has graffiti all over the walls. The little girl and her family are probably staying in the tents in the photo. It looks like it might be in South America from what I can see
out the window. The roof of the nearby building looks foreign and there is a really pretty view.

To me this picture looks like maybe less fortunite poeple living in tents in an abanded or flooded apartment. The writing on the walls are what make me think its abanded and the water on the floor is what gives
me the idea there was a flood. There is also a spanish word written on a tent so it makes me think they are some where in spain. The architecture also gives makes me think there in Spain. the little girl in
the image means there are most likely families living in one tent.

I think that this picture was taken in a country that endures penury. It appears to be an abandoned, and flooded building with no windows, which gives the impression that it is an impoverished country. In addition,
there is a young girl in the picture, without an elder to look after her. This shows that perhaps a natural disaster occurred which separated the girl from her guardian. There are also several tents in the building,
showing that many people who may be homeless are residing in the building.

I think this picture is about a little girl loosing her family and wondering where they went not know what really happened to them and i fear what will happen when she finds out. I see that the girl has no one to
be with and she looks sad and lonely. I see the area seems flooded and deserted except for that girl and the writing on the wall is in a foreign language maybe portico.

I think the picture portrays a girl, walking in an abandoned house or a homeless shelter. When you look out the window, it seems like they don’t live in the greatest side of town. The girls looks as though
she is making do with what she has. The flooding seems as though its been the rainy season or the melting snow. The picture looks as though it was taken in South America or France. This picture could also be
a horribly taken care of hostel.

I think that in this picture there was a flood. The tents are set up so people whose houses were ruined can sleep there. i think that it is a flood because there is water on the floor. There is a lot of writing
on the walls. I cannot tell what it says, but it is not in English. It looks a little like Spanish, but I don’t think it is. The little girl looks like she is running to someones tent. The tent she is
running from has a pair of flip flops in front of them. I think her dad might be in that tent. I think she is running to tell someone that there is water coming into the room.

In this picture I see a little girl walking out of this building or home I don’t really know which one it is. I see tents and shoes scattered all over the place. I see paintings on the wall with writings
on them. I see frames around the place and also see windows and lots of water on the floor that looks like it was caused by rain.

In this picture there is a little girl walking alone in what seems to be a temporary home were many families live together in a room in separate tents. the house seems like it used to be a very fancy nice house
but is now in despair. The town seems to be in extreme poverty. However sad this may be the little girl seems happy which is so important. i say that the little girl is happy because she seems to be walking
with pep and is carrying something. i can find in the backround metal houses and tropical trees. i also see words in spanish and drawings of people written on the colorful walls.

By looking at the walls I can tell that it the writing is probably Portugese because many of the the words resemble Spanish. I’m guessing it is probably in a South American country and the town must have
been flooded and the little girl in the picture probably lost her home so she has to stay in this room. This is a very unfortunate sight. The girl looks no older than four and she looks lost and lonely.
Whatever her condition is I hope her future is bright and that she will not stay in this condition for much longer.

This picture looks like people living in penury. There are tents in an empty warehouse with a floor covered in water. The walls are covered in graffiti and chipping paint. The language looks to be a romance language;
either Portugese or Spanish. This leads me to believe that this is somewhere in South or Central America. Outside, the foliage looks tropical, maybe a rainforest area. The little girl must be living there with
her family.

I think this shows how the population has increased and the effect is there is not enough space to hold everybody in the world. It looks like a crowded city so people had to live in tents. It is most likely in a
tropical poor area in a place like South America. I think it is in South America because i see Spanish written on the walls. The little girl looks alone and mature for her age. They live in pretty harsh conditions
considering they are sleeping in tents and are surrounded by water.Maybe the little girls family doesnt have enough money to live in a house.

There is a girl–a toddler–completely alone, in an empty, seemingly abandoned building. There are tents all over the room, and water is flooding it. I think it could be in an Asian country–possibly
Indonesia. Based off of what it looks like outside, with the trees and the rooftops I can see through the window, I think it could be an Asian country. Also, based off of the graffiti on the wall, I think it
could possibly be a Spanish-speaking country–possibly Brazil.

I think whats going on this picture takes place in India after a monsoon. I think that whats going on is they are taking shelter in a building but they can’t sleep on the floors because the floors are wet
so they sleep in tents and stay in the building until the rain is gone. The things that make me see this are the puddles of water on the ground and it looks like it is raining outside. The outside view looks
like a little village in India and it looks like a shelter that a family stays in during the time of monsoon season so they can avoid the flooding and destroying of places.

Within the picture you see a small girl maybe 3 or 5, she is walking through a degrading building. From what you can see from the windows, the area is foreign and very lush, it is most likely Brazil or somewhere
within India or central Asia. For the most part the assumption comes from her brown skin and the tiling upon the roof, along with the tree’s that seem to line the area.